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Borough of Emerson, NJ
Bergen County
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Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Code
New Laws (10) Index Notes (1)
[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council of the Borough of Emerson 5-28-1974 by Ord. No. 628 (Ch. 118 of the 1966 Code); amended in its entirety 12-15-2020 by Ord. No. 1620-20. Subsequent amendments noted where applicable.]
A. 
Definitions. As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
DRIVER
Includes any person licensed to drive a taxicab.
DRIVER'S LICENSE
The license for a driver issued by the Borough of Emerson.
OWNER
Includes any person, firm, partnership, corporation or association owning and operating a taxicab or cabs and shall include a purchaser under a reserved title contract, conditional sales agreement or vendor's lien agreement and the lessee of any such vehicle or vehicles under a written lease or similar contract, provided that such purchaser or lessee shall be entitled in his own name to obtain a license therefor from the Director of Motor Vehicles.
TAXICAB
A vehicle carrying passengers for hire in the Borough of Emerson, driven by mechanical power.
TAXICAB LICENSE
The license issued by the Borough of Emerson to operate a taxicab in the Borough of Emerson.
B. 
Construction of words. The masculine gender as used herein shall be extended when necessary to include the feminine or neuter gender, and likewise the singular number shall be extended when necessary to include the plural.
A taxicab shall operate for hire within the Borough of Emerson only if the owner shall first have obtained an appropriate license from the Borough. Such license shall be issued as of July 1 of each year and shall expire on June 30 next succeeding, unless sooner suspended or revoked by the Mayor and Council of the Borough of Emerson.
The fee for such license shall be $50; provided, however, that if the license is granted after January 1, the license fee shall be $25.
An application for such license shall be submitted by the owner to the Borough, as hereinafter provided, and the application must be approved by the Mayor and Council.
Such license may be transferred to any purchaser of the taxicab or the business conducted by the owner, provided that the purchaser shall first submit an application for such transfer to the Mayor and Council and the transferee approved by the Mayor and Council in the same manner as the original applicant shall be approved.
The number of taxicabs shall be limited to two.
No further applications shall be issued by the Mayor and Council unless a public hearing is first held by the Mayor and Council to determine whether public convenience, welfare and necessity require the operation of additional taxicabs. The Mayor and Council shall fix a time and place for such hearing and shall publish notice of the same in a newspaper printed or circulated in the Borough at least one week before the date of such hearing.
All taxicabs shall be inspected by the Police Department of the Borough of Emerson.
The rates charged by such owner shall not exceed the rates set forth in schedules filed with the Mayor and Council and approved by it.
Each taxicab shall display an appropriate sign denoting that it is a taxicab.
A. 
Before an owner may obtain a license to operate a taxicab in the Borough of Emerson, an application must be filed with the Borough Council setting forth the following regulations:
(1) 
He must be over the age of 21 years and a citizen of the United States and must have been a resident of New Jersey for at least 90 days before the date of making the application.
(2) 
He must be of good moral character and must produce affidavits to that effect from two responsible citizens of the Borough of Emerson or the County of Bergen.
(3) 
He must comply with N.J.S.A. 48:16-1 et seq., except that the policy of insurance therein provided for personal injuries shall be for a limit of $50,000 for one person and $100,000 for two or more persons, and said policy shall also contain the usual personal property damage clause in the amount of $5,000.
(4) 
The full name, residence for five years previous, age, place of birth and a statement of whether the owner was ever convicted of a crime or a felony must be set forth in the application.
(5) 
If the owner is a firm, partnership, corporation or association, the same particulars must be supplied with reference to all of the partners, officers, stockholders or associates.
(6) 
The make and model of each motor vehicle to be licensed, which must, before a license shall issue, be inspected and approved, in writing, by the Chief of Police of the Borough of Emerson and shall be a sedan with a minimum of three doors, two of which shall be for the exclusive use of the passengers.
(7) 
He shall execute and deliver the power of attorney provided in N.J.S.A. 48:16-5.
B. 
The taxicab license shall be numbered and shall state the name of the person licensed and shall briefly describe the vehicle licensed with the make, manufacturer's number and state license number.
Before a driver may be granted a driver's license, he shall file an application with the Borough Council setting forth the following facts and complying with the following regulations:
A. 
He must be over the age of 21 years and a citizen of the United States and must have been a resident of the State of New Jersey for at least 90 days before the date of making the application.
B. 
He must hold a New Jersey driver's license.
C. 
The application must be filed with the Borough Council and state the applicant's full name, residence and residence for five years previous, his age, height and weight, place of birth, length of residence in Emerson or in New Jersey, whether a citizen, where last employed, married or single and whether he was ever convicted of a crime or felony.
D. 
The fee for such driver's license shall be $3.
E. 
No person shall drive or operate a taxicab unless he first obtains a driver's license, unless he is the individual owner of the taxicab operated by him.
F. 
He must produce a certificate from the Chief of Police of the Borough of Emerson that he has been photographed and fingerprinted and that the same are on file in the Emerson Police Headquarters.
G. 
He shall file with his application two recent photographs of himself two inches by 2 1/2 inches, one of which shall be so affixed to his license as not to be removed without detection, and the other shall be filed with the Borough Clerk.
H. 
He shall conspicuously display his license at all times in the taxicab he is operating, and the same must not be altered in any respect, defaced or damaged.
I. 
He shall not solicit customers in a noisy and offensive manner, nor at any place other than the public hack stands.
J. 
He shall not, when disengaged, refuse to transport any orderly person who tenders his fare.
K. 
Unless engaged, he shall not permit his taxicab to stand in any public street or place other than a public hack stand.
The Mayor and Council may revoke or suspend any taxicab license or driver's license for any violation of the provisions of this chapter or of any rules or regulations promulgated by the Mayor and Council to carry out the provisions of this chapter.
A. 
The owner shall keep his taxicab in a clean condition and mechanically perfect and shall employ only licensed drivers.
B. 
The driver shall drive carefully and take passengers to their destinations by the shortest route and keep his taxicab clean and in good condition, and any dispute as to the fare shall be referred to a police officer.
C. 
Each taxicab shall conspicuously display on the inside, in letters and figures not less than 1/2 inch in height, the license number, the name of the owner and the rates charged.
Before any license is issued to either an owner or driver, the Chief of Police of the Borough of Emerson shall conduct an investigation of both owner and driver and file a report with the Mayor and Council of the Borough of Emerson, indicating his approval or disapproval of such application and his reasons therefor.
All licenses herein provided for shall be issued by the Borough Clerk when all the requirements of this chapter have been fully complied with, and the Borough Clerk shall keep a register of all licenses issued with all the pertinent facts pertaining to each license.
The Chief of Police is hereby authorized, empowered and directed to make reasonable regulations respecting the use of vehicles licensed hereunder; the use of public hack stands; the number of licensed vehicles which may stand in any one place at the same time; the inspection of vehicles licensed and to be licensed hereunder; the inspection of driver's licensed hereunder; and such other regulations as may promote the public convenience and safety.
A. 
Public hack stands are hereby established at such places as may be, from time to time, designated by the Borough Council, which may designate the character of vehicles which may stand at any such public hack stands and may exclude all other vehicles from such stands. The location and capacity of any such hack stands shall be indicated by a sign substantially as follows: "Public Hack Stand, Capacity . . ."
B. 
No vehicle other than one licensed hereunder and prepared to accept passengers upon request shall stand at any such public hack stand.
The Mayor and Council may make and adopt any further rules or regulations consistent with the provisions of this chapter in order to effectuate the purposes thereof.
Any person, firm, corporation or association who shall violate any of the provisions of this chapter shall, in addition to the suspension or revocation of the license heretofore mentioned, be punishable by a fine not exceeding $500 or imprisonment in the county jail for a term not exceeding 90 days, or both such fine and imprisonment, and every day of such violation shall be deemed and taken to be a separate and distinct offense.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
LIMOUSINE
Includes any automobile or motor car with a carrying capacity of not more than nine passengers, not including the driver, used in the business of carrying passengers for hire which is held out, announced or advertised to operate or run or which is operated or run over any of the streets or public highways of this state and which is hired by charter or for a particular contract or by the day or hour or other fixed period or to transport passengers to a specified place or places or which charges a fare or price agreed upon in advance between the operator and the passenger. Nothing in this chapter shall apply to buses employed solely in transporting school children or teachers or autobuses which are subject to the jurisdiction of the State of New Jersey, Department of Transportation and/or Board of Public Utilities or interstate autobuses that are regulated by the Interstate Commerce Commission.
More than one license may be issued to one applicant, provided that each limousine will be in actual use during the licensed year.
No owner of a limousine or other person having direction or control of a limousine shall operate it or permit it to be operated as a vehicle for hire or for transporting passengers for compensation upon the streets of the Borough of Emerson unless a limousine license has first been issued for said vehicle by the Borough of Emerson. The requirements of this section shall not apply to a limousine duly licensed by another municipality while such limousine is being operated solely in response to a call to pick up a passenger or passengers or for the purpose of delivering to a destination or destinations within the Borough. No limousine licensed in another municipality shall be permitted to cruise in the municipality for the purpose of engaging passengers unless licensed by the Borough of Emerson.
Every person applying for a limousine license or a renewal or transfer thereof must be at least 21 years of age. If a corporation, such corporation must be organized and existing under the laws of the State of New Jersey and shall maintain an office in the Borough of Emerson. The application for a license shall be filed with the Borough Clerk upon forms provided by the Clerk. It shall be verified under oath and shall include the following information:
A. 
Name, address and age of the applicant. If the applicant is a partnership, the names and addresses of the partners and their respective interests in the partnership shall be given, and if a corporation, the names and addresses of all officers, directors and stockholders shall be given. He must produce a certificate from the Chief of Police of the Borough of Emerson that he has been photographed and fingerprinted and that the same are on file in the Emerson Police Headquarters. He shall file with his application two recent photographs of himself two inches by 2 1/2 inches, one of which shall be so affixed to his license as not to be removed without detection, and the other shall be filed with the Borough Clerk.
B. 
The year, serial number, type, model and color of the vehicle or vehicles to be licensed.
C. 
The passenger capacity of the vehicle or vehicles (not including the driver's seat).
D. 
A description of the applicant's experience in the transportation of passengers.
E. 
The number of vehicles to be operated or controlled by the applicant, and the location of proposed depots and terminal points.
F. 
The color scheme or insignia, if any, to be used to designate the vehicle or vehicles of the applicant.
G. 
The criminal record, if any, of the applicant; and if the applicant is a corporation, partnership or incorporated association, the criminal record, if any, of each person participating in the ownership or management of the applicant as stockholder, partner, officer, manager or otherwise.
H. 
A certificate from the Police Department of the Borough of Emerson that the limousine has been inspected and passed such inspection, as required by § 260-27 of this chapter, shall be submitted to the Borough Clerk before a license shall be issued.
I. 
In the case of a license renewal, the number of weeks during the previous six-month period the vehicle to be licensed was operated as a limousine.
J. 
A schedule of rates to be charged by the applicant.
A. 
No limousine shall be operated wholly or partly along any street in the Borough of Emerson until the owner of the limousine shall have filed with the Borough Clerk an insurance policy of a company duly licensed to transact business under the insurance laws of this state in the sum of $50,000 for one person and $100,000 for two or more persons by reason of the liability imposed by law upon every limousine owner for damages on account of bodily injury or death suffered by any person as the result of an accident occurring by reason of the ownership, maintenance or use of the limousine upon any public street. Said policy shall also contain the coverage for personal property damage in the amount of at least $5,000.
B. 
Such operation shall be permitted only so long as the insurance policy shall remain in force to the full and collectible amounts as set forth in Subsection A above.
C. 
The insurance policy shall provide for the payment of any final judgment recovered by any person on account of the ownership, maintenance and use of such limousine or any fault in respect thereto and shall be for the benefit of every person suffering loss, damage or injury as aforesaid.
D. 
The insurance policy shall name the Borough of Emerson as an additional insured on its insurance policy.
No limousine license shall be issued unless the applicant shall have complied with the provisions of N.J.S.A. 48:16-1 through N.J.S.A. 48:16-22, as amended and supplemented, including particularly the delivery of a power of attorney as required by N.J.S.A. 48:16-3. After a limousine license is issued, the holder thereof shall be required to continue to comply with said statutory provisions of the State of New Jersey.
No limousine license shall be issued, renewed or transferred until the vehicle identified in the application for such license has passed state inspection as required by N.J.S.A. 39:8-2 and has also been examined and inspected by the Police Department and found to comply with the following provisions:
A. 
All limousines shall have four doors, two leading into the passenger's compartment and two leading into the driver's compartment, so constructed that they may be opened from the inside and outside. Each door shall be constructed with an approved safety lock.
B. 
Every limousine shall be equipped with a passenger compartment light adequate to illuminate the interior of the passenger's compartment and having a switch easily accessible to the passenger.
C. 
Every limousine shall be clean and sanitary. The report of the Police Department on each limousine examined and inspected prior to licensing shall be delivered to the Borough Clerk, who shall file such report with the application for the limousine license.
No limousine license shall be transferred without the written consent of the governing body. With such consent, which shall be granted only upon the filing of an application by the prospective transferee and a finding that he would be qualified to receive a license in accordance with the provisions of this chapter, the license may be transferred, provided it is to be used by the transferee in a bona fide operation of a limousine business. No limousine license shall be assigned, mortgaged, pledged or otherwise transferred to secure a debt, loan, advance or other financing transaction.
A. 
The governing body of the Borough of Emerson shall consider all applications for limousine licenses. If it finds that the limousine service proposed to be furnished by the applicant in the Borough of Emerson is required for the public convenience and that the applicant meets all the requirements of this chapter, then the governing body shall direct the Borough Clerk to issue a limousine license. No application shall be denied, however, without giving the applicant an opportunity to be heard on reasonable notice.
B. 
In determining public convenience under the terms of this section, the governing body shall take into consideration the number of limousines already in operation, whether existing transportation is adequate to meet the public need, the probable effect of increased service on local traffic conditions and the character, experience and responsibility of the applicant as well as the condition, age and fitness of the vehicle for which a limousine license is sought.
A. 
A limousine license shall entitle the limousine therein described to be operated in this Borough until the said license either expires or is surrendered, suspended or revoked, and it shall be transferable only with the approval of the governing body.
B. 
Any license issued pursuant to the terms of this chapter shall expire at 12:00 midnight of the 30th day of June of the year next succeeding the year in which it was issued, unless sooner surrendered, suspended or revoked.
The governing body may, in its discretion, refuse to issue or renew or may, after notice and hearing, revoke or suspend any license:
A. 
If the applicant for the license has been once convicted of a crime in this or any other jurisdiction or convicted of being a disorderly person or of a violation of Title 39, Motor Vehicles and Traffic Regulation, or the Revised Statutes of New Jersey; has violated any provision of this chapter or has any judgment unsatisfied of record against him arising out of an automobile accident; has made false answers in his application for such license or any renewal thereof; has failed or fails to render reasonably prompt, safe and adequate limousine service; or has not complied fully with all requirements of this chapter.
B. 
If the motor vehicle licensed or to be licensed, by reason of unsafe or unsanitary condition, is dangerous to the safety or health of the occupants or others or if the policy of insurance required herein has lapsed or such coverage is not maintained at all times.
C. 
If the limousine covered by such license has not been used regularly as a limousine for a period of six months.
Any license may be revoked or suspended for cause at any time by the governing body upon notice, in writing, of the charge or charges against the holder of the license and an opportunity to be heard thereon, if requested; provided, however, that an initial suspension of not over 10 days may be ordered prior to the hearing for the determination of the charges. The licensee shall answer, in writing, the charges made against him within five days of their receipt by him and shall endorse thereon a demand for a hearing if one is requested by him. A time and place shall be fixed for the hearing, and at least five days' notice thereof shall be served upon the holder of the license. At the hearing, the party charged with a violation of this chapter or other violations may make such statements in his own behalf or through witnesses or submit such verified or unverified statements as he may desire. The governing body shall proceed to a decision thereon, sustaining or dismissing the charges and suspending or revoking the license.
Owners of limousines, their agents and employees and cab drivers engaging in the limousine business shall render courteous and undiscriminatory service to the public. They shall answer all telephone calls received by them for transportation service within the limits of the Borough of Emerson as soon as they can do so, and if such service cannot be rendered within a reasonable time, they shall notify the prospective passenger when a limousine will be available to serve him. Limousine owners must post in the limousine a schedule of rates to be charged, and upon telephonic inquiry the limousine driver shall be required to state the rates.
No limousine covered by the terms of this chapter shall be operated at any time in the Borough of Emerson unless it is in good repair and in sound condition to provide safe and dependable transportation.
No driver of any limousine shall permit persons to be carried in a limousine as passengers in excess of the seating capacity of the limousine as stated in the license application.
A. 
Fees in the amount of $50 shall be paid to the Borough of Emerson at the time any license required by this chapter is applied for; however, that if the license is granted after January 1, the license fee shall be $25.
B. 
No fee shall be refunded because the license applied for is denied.
C. 
Applications for renewal licenses shall be filed not later than June 1.
Any violation of this chapter shall result in the suspension and/or revocation of the license granted to the limousine service provider. The governing body, in its sole discretion, may bar the license holder for five years if there are more than three violations of this chapter within a five-year period. Each violation of this chapter shall also result in a fine being issued in the amount of $100 for the first offense and $250 for each additional offense in addition to any other penalties imposed by this chapter.